WERRIBEE PRECINCT - WOMEDA - A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY FOR MELBOURNE
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WERRIBEE
PRECINCT
A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY
FOR MELBOURNE
WoMEDA
WEST OF MELBOURNE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ALLIANCE
COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR
WEST OF MELBOURNE ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT ALLIANCE (WoMEDA)
This report on Werribee and Wyndham follows earlier reports in which we WOMEDA BOARD MEMBERS
have argued for three main employment precincts in the West of Melbourne:
Professor Peter Dawkins (Chair)
Footscray in the inner west; Sunshine in the middle west and Werribee in the
Former Vice Chancellor and President,
outer west.
Victoria University
In this report we have turned our attention to Werribee, which is further from
Kelly Grigsby (Deputy Chair)
the city than Footscray and Sunshine, but with its huge population growth
Former CEO, Wyndham City Council
needs an employment precinct, to enable it to be a satellite city and allow
people to work closer to home. Ameet Bains
CEO, Western Bulldogs Football Club
While its economy is much less developed than that of Footscray and Sunshine,
the long term need for the satellite city is very compelling and requires a Russell Harrison
visionary approach. The case for people working closer to home has been CEO, Western Health
further boosted by COVID-19 and we see this as a very timely report.
Cathy Scalzo
Footscray as a university town has a strong focus on education, health and CEO, Scalzo Family Office
sport, as well as creative industries and business services. Its proximity to
Stephen Wall
the city is a distinctive asset that is seeing it develop strongly and now the
CEO, Maribyrnong City Council
co-location of the new Footscray Hospital with Victoria University will give it
further momentum. Merril Hotchkin
Executive Leader in Strategy, People,
Sunshine in the middle west has gained a big boost from the announcement
Performance and Culture, Metricon Homes
of the airport-city rail link as well as its designated precinct status and the
expansion of the Sunshine hospital and the Victoria University Polytechnic Louise Glanville
Campus, but we have put forward proposals to give its further development CEO, Victorian Legal Aid and Chair,
more momentum. Western Metropolitan Partnership
While some of the ideas for Werribee’s development, in this report, have Helen Morrissey
similarities with our proposals for Footscray and Sunshine, such as important CEO, Brimbank City Council
roles for an expanded hospital and a STEM campus of Victoria University,
Kevin Thorley
the focus on the clean economy give it a distinctive focus, as do the further
Manager, Human Resources,
development of distinctive amenities such as Werribee Zoo.
Learning Development and Mobilisation,
Wyndham will be vitally important to Melbourne and Victoria. Victoria needs John Holland CPB, West Gate Tunnel Project
Wyndham to be a vibrant satellite city for Melbourne.
Adam Shoemaker
The population will near 500,000 by 2040 making it bigger than Canberra, Vice-Chancellor and President,
bigger than Geelong, and bigger than Ballarat and Bendigo combined. Victoria University
Pre-COVID, some 60% of workers commuted out of the region every day for Jim Williamson
work. We have already seen some of the consequences on our roads and trains. Chair, LeadWest
The expected population growth will make this a huge burden in future; for
Sue La Greca
families in time wasted commuting and for public investment in roads and rail.
Executive Officer, LeadWest
Development of an employment precinct, providing more local jobs for local
Wade Noonan
people, is a necessary step to help remedy the actual and emerging problems.
Executive Director, WoMEDA
We offer this paper as an addition to the ongoing community discussion about
KEY ADVISOR TO THE BOARD
Wyndham’s future.
Professor Rod Maddock
This report has been shaped by the Board of WoMEDA but its drafting has Lead Economist, WoMEDA.
been led by Professor Rod Maddock, our lead economist.
EXECUTIVE OFFICER
It sets out some steps which we think work towards a solution to some of the Natalie Meagher
hardest problems, most notably to that of employment. Senior Advisor, Office of the Vice-Chancellor,
Victoria University.
Professor Peter Dawkins AO
Chair, WoMEDA
2 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 3
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
WoMEDA recognises Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples as the First Custodians PART ONE
of the lands on which Australia was founded. The Vision: Wyndham
WoMEDA acknowledges the Wathaurung, – a Vibrant Satellite City for Melbourne
Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung peoples of the
Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the 1.1 The Vision: What does
lands on which Wyndham is being built. Success look like?
WoMEDA pays respect to the wisdom and 1.2 Melbourne and Victoria need
diversity of past and present Elders. We Wyndham to succeed
share commitment to nurturing future 1.3 East Werribee Precinct: 50,000 jobs
generations of Elders in Aboriginal and 1.4 The Good News:
Torres Strait Islander communities. Government is taking the first steps
1.5 What needs to happen?
1.6 What if this doesn’t happen?
PART TWO
The Future Population and Economy
2.1 Wyndham: Are the Population
Forecasts Reasonable?
2.2 Future economy: Workforce and
commuting – need 85,000 extra jobs
2.3 Future Economy: Health and Wellbeing
2.4 Future Economy: Professional, Scientific
and Technical Services
2.5 Future Economy: Construction and Tourism
2.6 The current strengths: Construction,
Logistics, Manufacturing, Retail
PART THREE
Connectivity and Liveability
3.1 Transport and Connectivity
is a Key Enabler
3.2 Liveability
PART FOUR
Conclusions and Recommendations
4 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 5
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT NINE TEN
Recognise Werribee as Create a powerful Design the precinct Concentrate new Impose very high Consider carefully the Be bold: Set clear job In addition to Facilitate local Develop
a major satellite city heart for the region to concentrate on assets in the precinct: design, deep-green, functional integration targets for 2036 services-oriented East residents filling many complementary
within Melbourne. by developing the East providing high quality • A major standards of the Precinct into the • East Werribee Werribee precinct, new jobs with a skills strategies to further
Werribee Precinct as services to the broader government services • Commit to broader Wyndham 50,000 new jobs focus on creating new development strategy enhance liveability,
the highest priority. region: concentration sustainability in community. jobs in the whole of (especially for the healthiness and
• Wyndham 85,000
Adopt the “clean • Professional design, construction Wyndham young) and a social environmental
• Significant hospital, total new jobs.
economy” theme for services and operation • In tourism, with procurement program sustainability, thereby
medical and care
the precinct. new facilities for the region. ensuring a positive
• Administrative facilities • Aim to create
complementing future for Wyndham
services • A technical architectural
existing assets and its residents.
• Scientific, technical university campus highlights and
and educational keynote buildings • In construction, and
• Relocated and
services. • Develop an the nature of local ELEVEN
new government
integrated transport residential building Planning and
research facilities.
system changes rezoning should be
• Build for a post- • In logistics, developed in a way
COVID environment building on current that complements the
– facilitate remote specialisations. development of the
working. hubs.
6 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 7
PART ONE JOLIMONT
THE VISION: WYNDHAM, A VIBRANT
RICHMOND CAMBERWELL
SATELLITE CITY FOR MELBOURNE TOORAK
CAMBERWELL
81
4 1 19
20 36 86
19
1.1 THE VISION: TABLE 1 WYNDHAM: A POPULATION ST KILDA
20 031
2 28 01
20 021 20
WHAT DOES SUCCESS POWERHOUSE IN VICTORIA 2
20
16
11 96
LOOK LIKE? POPULATION 2016 2036
MALVERN 20
20
06 19
Wyndham is well on its way to a population of over
500,000 and a place as one of Melbourne’s largest
WYNDHAM 298,384 459,216
suburban centres. Already it is significantly bigger
than Greater Geelong and growing faster. By 2036, GEELONG 286,384 424,817
it will be bigger than Ballarat and Bendigo CHADSTONE
combined. BALLARAT 159,994 207,578 CAULFIELD
Wyndham is destined to grow into one of the most significant
elements of Melbourne.
BENDIGO 155,536 201,868
CAULFIELD
Werribee, at its heart, is the same distance (25kms) from Source: Vic Planning, SE4 levels
Melbourne CBD as Parramatta is from Sydney CBD. It has the
same capacity to grow into a separate, major commercial, THE POPULATION CENTRE OF MELBOURNE IS SHIFTING WESTWARDS
business, service and social hub as Parramatta does for At the highest level then, success for Wyndham is Source: https://blog.id.com.au/2018/population-forecasting/is-the-demographic-centre-of-melbourne-shifting/
Sydney. That should be the plan. relatively simple to describe.
Nevertheless, the region faces important challenges. Wyndham • Residents should be able to enjoy a satisfying life.
encompasses the largest area of any Metropolitan LGA (542 – Services should be delivered, work should be reasonably
sq kms) and has the largest and fastest population growth in available and they should have access to high quality 1.2 MELBOURNE
Victoria (second in Australia). These pose difficult problems of social, health and educational amenities. AND VICTORIA NEED
management and service provision. • Local employment of residents should double over the next
twenty years.
WYNDHAM TO SUCCEED
More than 44% of households speak a language other than
English at home and some two-thirds of employed persons – This is important to the quality of life of locals and also
commute out of the LGA to work – currently over 50,000 reduces the pressure on public infrastructure. It clearly Melbourne’s growth towards a city of 10 million Even the desirability of centralised sports hubs or arts
people and it is on track to exceed 100,000 per day by 2036. requires the development of a large number of new roles people means that changes in its layout are complexes comes under challenge.
and possibly the transfer of some roles from other parts of inevitable. There seem to be three basic alternatives:
The area suffers some social problems arising from disengaged Werribee is a natural location for the decentralisation of
the city to Wyndham.
youth (10% v Melbourne average of 7.5%) in 15-24 age • Growth remains centralised and the CBD is dominated by government services. Rather than have thousands of people
group and some indicators of social capital suggest that • The Werribee Precinct is extremely important in this residential skyscrapers move to the CBD daily, government could take the lead by
there is as yet no well-developed sense of belonging. For transformation. experimenting with new modes of work serviced from the
• Growth is dispersed but masses commute daily to the
example, volunteering is low – 13.9% vs average of 17.5% for – It will provide a new city centre for the South West, business hub, the CBD region. Increased numbers of people working locally will
Melbourne. with major health, educational, legal and administrative generate local spill-overs to other jobs.
• Growth is focussed in precincts, the city becomes polycentric.
investments providing a major new employment hub. At the
In summary the key challenges are: same time, it helps change the narrative of the region. It The old planning assumptions of re-purposing farmland for
COVID-19 has made the best path clearer. Dispersed growth
makes Wyndham the dominant satellite of Melbourne in the housing and channelling employees and activity back towards
• Managing sheer growth is clearly preferable to having a very dense city centre,
South West. a CBD hub, is obviously not sustainable.
• Integrating its diverse, scattered and heavily commuting or to having a heavily used public transport system. It has
community demonstrated that many jobs can be carried out from home, or In effect, Melbourne and Victoria need Wyndham to be
remote offices, rather than huddling the people together in the developed as one important hub in a polycentric city.
• Developing a strong heart and integrating a story for the
city centre.
region
• A large number of unemployed
• A large number of discouraged workers
• A significant shortage of jobs for youth
• Overlain with an immediate problem with people
losing jobs as a result of COVID-19.
8 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 9
1.3 EAST WERRIBEE
PRECINCT: A KEY PART
OF THE SOLUTION 1.4 THE GOOD
NEWS: GOVERNMENT
The Werribee Precinct development provides an IS TAKING FIRST STEPS
opportunity to give Wyndham a strong commercial
centre, and a clear focal point defining its role within As outlined in the North-West City Deal proposal,
the development needs of new precincts in the West
1.5 WHAT
Melbourne and Victoria.
can be captured under four headings and the State NEEDS TO HAPPEN?
It provides a heart, a story and a job hub. Government has made a down payment on them in
the recent budget. More will be needed: It is important that Melbourne develops a more
It also provides the opportunity to build a different sort of hub,
polycentric model of evolution. Recognising that
one with forward looking transport systems, green construction Future Economy Wyndham should become a major satellite city
practices, appropriate social housing and a wide range of jobs
• Upgrades to local schools, including $10.1 million for within Melbourne is an important next step along
which are easily accessible. Most commuting can be abolished.
Hoppers Crossing Secondary College, $10.7 million for this path. It will have about the same population as • Further strengthening the proposed court and legal industries
Werribee Precinct: Woodville Primary School, and $8 million for Warringa Park Canberra by 2040. by the co-location of new research and services cluster
• Functionally the Precinct should evolve as the premier School. Land acquisition funding for five new local schools including in mental health.
Werribee then becomes the CBD of the new satellite city,
professional services hub for the South-West. It should be including Truganina North Secondary College, Holyoake employing 50,000 additional people. In addition to providing employment, and a core to Wyndham,
a place where people and businesses from the region Parade Primary, Lollypop Creek Primary, Riverdale East East Werribee should be visually and culturally interesting. The
come to develop ideas, a place of education, learning and Primary, and Tarneit Missen House Primary. The East Werribee greenfield site provides the perfect location
new development should include at least one iconic building,
knowledge. • $84 million upgrade to the Werribee Zoo. to design something significant, free from the constraints of
something which stands out and can be identified specifically
redevelopment, of consolidating private land holdings etc.
• Structurally it should characterise the clean, green economy. • $272 million towards a new Wyndham Law Court, which with the region.
• Physically it should be distinctive. It should feature some will provide a full range of specialist court programs and As a new CBD, the precinct needs a powerful rationale and
With Werribee providing the CBD for the satellite city, transport
distinctive building – such as the Pompidou Centre, the Egg services including hearing rooms, mediation suites and a strong design rubric.
connections will be of fundamental importance. Much of the
or the Bilbao museum – to establish an icon for the West. specialist family violence court. The economic rationale is functional. The Precinct should current transport network is designed to take people out of the
The precinct should gather together: Health and Wellbeing provide high level professional, technical, scientific, and area. Werribee was once a way-stop between Melbourne and
administrative services both to its local economy and more Geelong, and the transport network has tended to reinforce
• Major hospital and medical complex • Funding for the local health system, including $4.8 million
widely within the South-West region. It should become a that. A new transport design is needed which works for
to plan for the future expansion of the Werribee Mercy
• Major legal precinct knowledge centre, thereby taking advantage of the expected Wyndham, and reinforces the central role of the East Werribee
Hospital and funding to acquire land for the new Point Cook
• Major technical university campus growth of the knowledge economy. Precinct.
Community Hospital.
• Government and private research centres The public sector will appropriately provide many of Consider carefully how the precinct integrates functionally
Transport and Connectivity
• Government administrative complex the key assets to a major satellite city. It should play within Wyndham City and its region.
• Widening of the Point Cook and Sneydes Road intersection its leading role through:
• Federal, State and local government services including the installation of traffic lights, as well as the As Wyndham develops, other industries – logistics, tourism,
• High quality arts complex (for example - theatre, gallery, important removal of level crossings in Werribee and • Establishing a major government services centre which retail and construction – will all play their part. And policy
museum, convention centre). Hoppers Crossing. employs many civil servants and provides a working hub needs to support them.
for city-based staff which avoids their travelling to the main
It should be developed to provide about 50,000 new jobs. • $2 billion for the Geelong fast rail project, including track current government locations in central Melbourne. The region needs to invest in these industries and also into a
upgrades between Werribee and Laverton, increasing wide range of social and community assets, but the time has
Physically the p recinct needs to be boldly imaginative, capacity and services on the Werribee line (the Federal • Underwriting a new STEM university campus designed to
come for a major concentration on the East Werribee Precinct.
providing a locale that people in Wyndham can proudly Government has also committed $2 billion to this project). integrate into the local business community to help provide
recognise. the intellectual heft to establish the precinct as a knowledge
Liveability centre.
The administrative complex should allow Government to
• Funding towards bus service improvements, including the • Relocating various government research facilities to the
experiment with new ways of working, to take advantage of the
delivery of new bus services and service upgrades. The two precinct and potentially establishing new ones, such as a
lessons learned from home working during COVID effectively
new bus routes run between Werribee and Tarneit Stations, Logistics Security Institute taking advantage of local industrial
prioritising local employment.
and between Williams Landing and Tarneit Stations. strengths.
The residential components should facilitate people getting to • Ongoing rapid growth will guarantee that Wyndham will • Encouraging the development of the medical and hospital
work and moving around the precinct using active means of become a major economic and social power within Victoria. cluster needed to meet the very rapid population growth
transport. while spinning off new local businesses.
• Support for the Tarneit soccer stadium is helping make that
It should be a precinct for the future. new facility a reality.
10 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 11
1.6 THE RISK:
WHAT IF THIS
DOESN’T HAPPEN
The failure to develop the East Werribee Precinct Commuting impacts people’s health. In a large study,
as a major employment and service centre will the UK Office of National Statistics (2014) reported
result in: that, holding other factors constant, commuters
have:
• Werribee developing as an undistinguished
commercial centre. • lower life satisfaction
• Wyndham filling up with houses. • a lower sense that their daily activities are worthwhile
The population by 2036 will still be about 450,000. At that level, • lower levels of happiness
the number of people looking for work will double to around • higher anxiety on average than non-commuters.
200,000. With no change in the availability of work locally,
In the absence of change, workers will be away from home for
around 60% of these people will commute out of Wyndham daily.
much longer, children and households will suffer, families will
In effect an additional 50,000 to 60,000 people will try to drive be negatively impacted.
or get on public transport every day: congestion will double.
12 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 13
ARCHITECT’S IMPRESSION OF A FUTURE SATELLITE CITY IN WERRIBEE 14 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 15
PART TWO
THE FUTURE POPULATION
AND ECONOMY
2.1 WYNDHAM: ARE THE
TABLE 2 FEDERAL POST-COVID POPULATION
POPULATION FORECASTS FORECASTS EQUAL VICTORIAN PRE-COVID
REASONABLE? POPULATION FORECASTS
Much of the thinking about city development is FEDERAL FORECAST 2030-31 2035-36
driven by population forecasts. About 60% of
Victoria’s strong population growth is driven by PRE-COVID MELBOURNE 6,555,500 7,219,528
net overseas migration, about 10% by internal
migration and the rest from natural increase. POST-COVID MELBOURNE 6,164,400 6,788,890
Before the COVID-19 epidemic Wyndham was expected VICTORIAN FORECAST 2030-31 2035-36
to grow from 255,320 in 2019 to 459,220 by 2036, an
increase of 203,890. The case for significant investment in
PRE-COVID MELBOURNE 6,253,062 6,781,149
Wyndham is very powerful.
POST-COVID WYNDHAM 404,651 459,216
The slow-down and reversal of immigration during the COVID
epidemic, has changed forecasts of population. The central
forecasts from the National Centre for Population are 6% lower Sources: Victorian data from Victoria in the Future, DELWP:
than they would have been in the absence of the epidemic. Federal data from the Population Statement 2021, Centre for
Population
However it turns out that this makes virtually no difference
Notes: The Federal forecasts only run to 2030-31 so they
to forecasts of Wyndham’s population – as shown in bold
have been extrapolated at the prior year growth rates for
in Table 2.
comparability.
The reason for this oddity is that the Victorian State Government While the National Centre for Population has not forecast
numbers were forecast off a lower base than the Federal population down to the local government area, it seems
numbers, apparently as a result of the under-counting of reasonable to assume that Wyndham’s share of Melbourne’s
Victoria’s population prior to the COVID episode. population will stay about constant. The best estimate we have
then of Wyndham’s future population is 459,216 in 2036.
It makes sense then to continue to plan for strong population
growth in Wyndham.
16 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 17
2.2 FUTURE ECONOMY:
WORKFORCE AND
COMMUTING - NEED
85,000 EXTRA JOBS JOBS OF THE FUTURE
The State Government has forecast that Wyndham The structure of Wyndham’s job availability needs
will have 459,220 residents by 2036. TABLE 3 WYNDHAM: A POPULATION to change to position it better for the future of work. TABLE 5 NEED TO CHANGE
On the basis of the previous section, we will assume POWERHOUSE IN VICTORIA Wyndham is particularly lacking in jobs in the THE EMPLOYMENT STRUCTURE:
that number still stands (noting it might be lower). professional, scientific and technical category – RANKING OF JOB NUMBERS BY INDUSTRY
NOW FUTURE CHANGE this has to be a high priority for change.
This represents an increase of 203,900 over the
population in 2016. CURRENT PROJECTED PROSPECTS
POPULATION 255,320 459,220 203,900 Currently dominant fields of employment, as in logistics 2016 2036
At the last Census, Wyndham’s labour force participation (transport, postal and warehousing), are expected to grow
rate was 65.7%. If we assume this stays constant, then some WORKFORCE 107,238 192,879 85,641 more slowly in the future, and retail job growth too is expected RETAIL TRADE 1 5
85,641 additional residents of Wyndham will be looking for to lag many other areas of employment as online shopping
work. COMMUTERS 60,966 109,653 48,688 impacts (see Table 5). TRANSPORT, POSTAL
Nor is Wyndham’s current workforce closely aligned with either AND WAREHOUSING 2 6
Currently 62% of employed workers from Wyndham commute
OTHER WORKERS 37,376 67,225 29,848 the State or Federal governments priority industries.
out of the region for work. At the Census this was 60,966
EDUCATION AND TRAINING 3 2 EMERGING
people leaving every day. The priority industry charts set up by the State or Federal
UNEMPLOYED 8,793 15,815 7,022
If this continued to apply, then by 2036 an additional 48,688 governments however are mainly focussed on technologies. HEALTH CARE AND
people will try to commute out of the LGA every day for work. This is an important challenge for Wyndham. There are 4 1
TOTAL 85,558 SOCIAL ASSISTANCE EMERGING
Wyndham will then be home to 109,653 daily commuters (see currently only 2500 jobs in the profession, scientific and
Table 3). Sources: Current data from id. Projections as described in text. technical services field, but ideally the region should be aiming
MANUFACTURING 5 9
to add over 10,000 extra roles in the next two decades.
The job task is large. In order to provide a reasonable lifestyle
for its residents by limiting commuting Wyndham needs 85,558 TABLE 4 APPLYING GOVERNMENT INDUSTRY CONSTRUCTION 6 4 EMERGING
extra local jobs by 2036. EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS TO WYNDHAM CURRENT INDUSTRY MIX
AND GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES ACCOMMODATION
The Federal government makes medium term projections of HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE 20,104
VICTORIA PRIORITY AUSTRALIA INDUSTRY AND FOOD SERVICES 7 7
employment by industry. Applying these to Wyndham’s job
needs, we can see that five industries are likely to provide 70% PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC & TECHNICAL SERVICES13,721 INDUSTRIES GROWTH CENTRES
of the new jobs (see Table 4). PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Construction technologies Advanced manufacturing AND SAFETY 8 8
EDUCATION AND TRAINING 10,291
Focussing on these five industries would represent a shift in the Creative industries Cyber security
structure of Wyndham’s employment where only 37% of current WHOLESALE TRADE 9 10
CONSTRUCTION 9,049 Defence technologies Food and agribusiness
local jobs lie in these five fields.
ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD SERVICES 7,274 Digital technologies Medical/pharmaceutical PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
AND TECHNICAL SERVICES 10 3
EMERGING
Food and fibre Mining services
RETAIL TRADE 4,958
International education Oil, gas and energy Source: Described in text.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND SAFETY 4,147 Medical/pharmaceutical Professional services
TRANSPORT, POSTAL AND WAREHOUSING 3,478
Retail and logistics
Space technology
OTHER SERVICES 3,056
Visitor economy
ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICES 2,770 Source: Government statements of priorities
Source: https://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/
EmploymentProjections
18 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 192.3 FUTURE ECONOMY: 2.4 FUTURE ECONOMY:
HEALTH AND WELLBEING PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
AND TECHNICAL SERVICES
The health and social assistance sector plays a Just as hospitals provide a natural anchor point for Switzerland followed this policy of investment in applied
doubly important role in regional development: employment in the health and assistance sector, tertiary campuses to stimulate local industries. Such investments
TABLE 6 MEDICAL AND
technical universities have tended to play that role can generate wide benefits as the evidence from reviews (see
• It improves the quality of life of the residents. HEALTH SERVICE PROVISION for professional and technical services. Schlegel et al (2020)) demonstrates:
• It is a very big local employer.
WYNDHAM STATE LGA This was clearly the ambition for the Australian Education City • direct job multipliers ranged from 1.03 to 8.44
VicHealth’s 2016 survey found people in Wyndham rated their AVERAGE RANKING proposal which did not proceed for a range of reasons. The • an economic impact (standardized by the university budget)
overall life satisfaction at a level very close to the Victorian
underlying idea, that a significant technological university ranged from 0.87 to 5.52
average. The challenge is to sustain this while the population GPS PER 1000 0.9 1.2 Bottom 14% operation was needed to develop Werribee as a technological
continues to grow. Medical and health service provision • patenting rose by between 7% to 32%
driver for Wyndham and the South-West remains relevant.
currently lags much of the State in most categories (as shown GP CLINICS PER 1000 0.2 0.3 Bottom 8% • the average profits per firm in a municipality increased by on
below) so that there is an important catch-up required. Health To succeed, a very significant investment in building a average, 24%.
outcomes lagged State averages with higher percentages of technology campus is required. This might be funded directly
ALLIED HEALTH SITES If East Werribee is to be a major provider of professional,
people: overweight, eating less healthy diets, and engaging in from a government budget or by cross subsidies from land sales
PER 1000 0.4 0.9 Bottom 5% technical and scientific services to Werribee, Wyndham and
less physical activity (see Table 6). or by an angel investor. The most likely option would appear
to be public funding. This could involve funding to support the to the broader South West, then investment in upgrading the
There seems likely to be a need for ongoing investment in PHARMACIES PER 1000 0.1 0.2 Bottom 8% university and technological infrastructure will be necessary. It
planned further development of Victoria University’s Werribee
acute services through the development of more hospitals as provides the anchor institution.
Source: VicHealth survey campus, but with the focus on STEM and on building the
the population expands. Some of the necessary investment was
professional and technological capabilities of the region. It is worth noting that Canberra, with a population similar in
foreshadowed in last year’s State budget.
For Wyndham to grow its local employment, especially in size to Wyndham forecasts for 2036, has multiple tertiary
Population drives the need. The population of Wyndham in institutions and over 40,000 tertiary students.
professional and technical services, it needs a major university
2036 is expected to be around 450,000. The Australian For Australia, the ABS data has the social assistance sector as
investment.
average is that there are 2.5 beds in public hospitals and 1.3 employing almost twice as many people as those employed
beds in private hospitals per 1000 population, total 3.8. In directly in the hospital system. One example is Adelaide’s Tonsley Park Innovation District. The
Victoria the numbers are 2.32 and 1.45 for a total of 3.77. Park provides the opportunity for the manufacturing industry
Given the size of the Wyndham workforce in 2036, we can
in South Australia to adapt and better utilise its strengths,
Given Wyndham’s expected population, at 3.77 beds per expect some 24,412 workers to be in the health and social
transitioning from traditional to high-value manufacturing.
1000 residents, means that it will ‘need’ 1730 beds by 2036. assistance sector. Currently there are 10,839, so on the
If hospitals become 10% more efficient, this falls to 1557. assumption that no extra commuting should be expected then Its success depended on being close to the broader facilities
the sector will add some 13,573 roles. of Flinders University. Tonsley is currently home to over
The actual need is likely to be less. Some patients will be served
1,700 employees. A similar parent institution
outside Wyndham. If 30% of the needs are provided outside With additional hospital beds, direct spill-overs from the
would be needed at Werribee
the LGA, Wyndham will need 1090 beds by 2030. If 50% of hospitals, plus the expected growth in social assistance, it
people travel outside of Wyndham for treatment, there is still a seems the health sector could deliver about 20,000 extra jobs
‘need’ for about 800 extra beds locally. by 2036.
The Mercy has expanded its capacity to 300 beds, and private
hospitals might be expanded further, but it still seems clear that
Wyndham will need to be serviced by at least a further 500
acute beds by 2036.
Hospitals are also important sources of employment. Each is
serviced by about 4.5 people so that the growth of the hospital
sector is likely to result in about 5000 additional full-time
equivalent jobs. Those jobs will also have important spill-over
adding roughly the same number of jobs in related service fields.
20 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 212.5 FUTURE ECONOMY: 2.6 THE CURRENT
STRENGTHS:
CONSTRUCTION, LOGISTICS,
MANUFACTURING, RETAIL
TABLE 8 EMPLOYMENT GROWTH RATES
CONSTRUCTION TABLE 7 GRADUAL SHIFT IN EMPHASIS
ON TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION
Two of Wydham’s important industries – logistics
and manufacturing – grew slowly between UP TO THE 2016 CENSUS
The other areas where major growth in employment censuses (see Table 8).
can be expected – construction and accommodation EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
Despite this Wyndham has strategic advantages in both: 2016 RATE %
and food – have clearer paths for development. 4
• It is home to one of Victoria’s largest concentration of roles in
Construction provides three opportunities: CONSTRUCTION 1769 22
3 logistics.
• local residential • It is an important component of the Western State Significant
• local commercial 2 Industrial Precinct. LOGISTICS 1426 4
• exports of professional services. They are industries which could get considerable support from MANUFACTURING 787 3
1 the development of a strong technological university presence.
The boom in residential development across Wyndham is
The decision to build a new STEM campus with staff motivated
continuing but will slow as local opportunities are filled towards WHOLESALE 694 21
0 to work on the real problems of local firms, and with skills in
the end of this decade. Trade skills and apprenticeships should 2020 2024 2028 2032 2036 data analysis and new energy solutions, would make it more
provide job paths for several thousand locals through the VET
likely that local firms could thrive.
RETAIL 666 24
system. RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL CIVIL
Commercial opportunities will however provide decades of
Logistics would also clearly gain by a decision to develop the PUBLIC 651 13
Western Intermodal Freight Terminal although the terminal itself
further scope for expansion. The Centre for Civil Construction
and many of the spill-overs would be shared with Melton. HEALTH AND ASSISTANCE 637 30
being developed on the VU campus provides a more We suggest two strategies:
sustainable, long-term option for the economy. As Melbourne The route for manufacturing is more complex but the
grows, the need for infrastructure in terms of roads, tunnel, • Getting greater value from the existing assets. COVID-19 epidemic has made it clearer that retaining a local EDUCATION 599 23
power networks, water supplies will provide ongoing sources • Developing newly built assets for Werribee and Wyndham. manufacturing presence is important to the State. At the same
of work within the State. Export opportunities, providing time the transformation of the energy sector towards renewables ADMINISTRATIVE 459 40
professional services to Manila, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh City, The continued investment in the Zoo should be encouraged. provides a challenge to local manufacturers. The pressure on
will provide important fields of export revenue for Wyndham. The key should be to try to get more visitors to stay for an extra local manufacturers to take advantage of localisation with PROFESSIONAL 378 38
day, to visit related facilities in the region. This suggests that the adapting energy source, provides challenges. Again, a local
Wyndham should focus on developing professional services wetlands and coast might be packaged more with the Zoo. Any technological university could help provide a solution and Source: id
firms in the construction sector which can take advantage new trackless tram routing should be developed also as to facilitate ensure that manufacturing employment grows.
of these opportunities. Local wealth is created by providing the movement of tourists through the region’s assets and reinforce
services to other parts of the city, the state, the nation and the Werribee’s “Clean Economy” theme. It should also be grounded in Retail is another important employer, especially for lesser skilled
world. The local firms will employ people with the full range of the local environmental and indigenous culture, complementing the people transitioning into the workforce, but one whose growth
skills but they need to succeed in global competition, and for Zoo/Mansion/river/coast package. has been tracking population growth. We do not know what
that they need a high quality of skills (see Table 7). the impact of the shopping-from-home trend will be for retail but
There should be a strong contribution from the local indigenous the demand for face-to-face interaction remains quite basic, and
TOURISM community, one of the largest in Melbourne. For example, a
new Aboriginal centre located near the Zoo, and encouraging
should persist.
Tourism has significant opportunities to provide services to cross-tourism, might be feasible.
people from outside the region and hence to generate local
income and local jobs. The objective would be to encourage The Mansion provides a natural focus for more integrated and
people to stay in the area for several days rather than simply longer-stay tourism. A link-up with the UK’s Glastonbury Festival,
passing through it. developed similarly in conjunction with Greenpeace, would be
one such option.
Wyndham has some outstanding assets – natural assets like the
coast, river, and wetlands and some built assets such as the zoo The A-League stadium at Tarneit shows the way in which new
and the mansion. The development of the key waterways, the physical infrastructure can be developed combining transport,
coast and the river, should also be carefully considered because sporting, and retail assets in a way which each adds value to
they are amongst Wyndham’s strategic assets. the other. Bundling the football with a trip to the Zoo, or to a
concert, adds value to the local economy.
22 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 23PART THREE
CONNECTIVITY
AND LIVEABILITY
3.1 TRANSPORT 3.2 LIVEABILITY
AND CONNECTIVITY
Major transport routes now largely pass through
Werribee and Wyndham. A key challenge will be to
The corridors would interchange with heavy rail at Williams
Landing, Hoppers Crossing and Tarneit stations and the future
JOBS AND SKILLS
modify the flows as the Werribee Precinct evolves as Sayers Road station adjacent to the proposed Wyndham The quality of the liveability of the area is shaped especially
a major commercial centre. It is very important that A-League Stadium. by the availability of local jobs: commuting is painful, and
East Werribee is well connected with the Werribee Wyndham has the highest percentage of people in Victoria
The East Werribee Precinct also provides the potential for
City Centre so they can both develop together to who have daily commutes of longer than two hours. There is
a more imaginative use of driverless vehicles, and off-road
form the capital of Melbourne’s south west. clear evidence that long commutes significantly reduce life
dedicated paths for bicycles/e-bikes/e-scooters separated from
satisfaction [ see for example HILDA survey evidence in Lass
Strong public transport shuttles need to be part of the public pedestrians to connect workers to the other networks. Successful
and Wilkins (2017, p78-85) ]. As discussed earlier, the area
transport plan to connect East Werribee with stations on the precincts have good internal transport.
is on track to have 100,000 people commute daily. While
Werribee Line. Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) also known as
Wyndham has also been involved in wider transport solutions – improving transport systems so that people can commute faster
“Trackless Trams” seem to provide the best solution for the area.
the Suburban Rail Loop, the Western Rail Plan, and the extension is one approach, WoMEDA sees more local jobs as crucial.
These are buses which have the most desirable characteristics All successful urban development plans include a key focus on
of the Werribee line to meet the Deer Park-West Werribee line at amenity.
of trams (segmented lanes, fixed routes, safe entry and exit, In creating large numbers of additional jobs, it will also be
Wyndham Vale. Additional stations have been proposed for the
right of ways) while retaining the key attributes of buses important to ensure that the local population is well placed
Werribee line at Derrimut Road and Werribee South. The region has important cultural and recreational amenities:
(flexibility, cheaper implementation, speed of movement). to secure those jobs. This implies an important skills agenda.
the Werribee Park Precinct; the Werribee Zoo which is going to
This will require a stocktake of the skills and qualifications of
undergo a major expansion soon; the Wyndham Harbour and
the local population and a strategy to upgrade and expand
the Wyndham, Cultural Centre to name but a few. There are
these skills to meet the projected employment needs. WoMEDA
POSSIBLE TRACKLESS TRAM also exciting plans for a major sporting stadium and precinct in
continues to support the development of a Jobs Institute to
DAVIES
ROUTE ACROSS WYNDHAM Tarneit, which will be the home of the Western United Football
undertake this research and analysis.
Club. There are also a range of sports centres, parks and
TARNEIT
SAYERS Social procurement strategies are necessary to encourage, and pools in the area. The presence of a Tech School at the Victoria
in some cases require, employers especially in major government University Werribee Campus is also an excellent shared
WYNDHAM led major projects, to hire local labour, including apprentices, educational facility for the whole region.
VILLAGE
trainees and cadets, and employ other disadvantaged jobseekers
The range of amenities that attract visitors from outside
(see Western Metropolitan Partnership report, especially for the
the region, as well as being good amenities for the local
discussion of social housing).
population, as outlined in Section 2 above, is increasingly
L AVERTON
In 2021, the Western Metropolitan Partnership, is undertaking impressive and provides significant potential for tourism and the
WESTONA a priority placed-based project on how to promote jobs and visitor economy.
AIRCRAFT skills for young people in the West of Melbourne. There
WYNDHAM WILLIAMS
Cooperation will be important, with Scienceworks in the inner
is significant evidence that young people are increasingly
VALE LANDINGS west of Melbourne, with the local Aboriginal community, and
challenged in the labour market, especially in getting onto
PACIFIC with the Werribee Zoo and Victoria University in its various
WERRIBEE skilled pathways, and that COVID has made this worse (see
curricula.
HOPPERS
CROSSING
for example Dawkins, Hurley and Lloyd 2020). There is a
DERRIMUT particularly strong population growth happening in Wyndham
in the 15-24 age group, so this is a particularly important issue
HEALTH, SUSTAINABILITY
BLACK WERRIBEE WERRIBEE
NEIC
SANCTUARY for this region. AND JOBS
FOREST LAKES
CULTURE, RECREATION We propose that Werribee and Wyndham should be a flagship
model of the close links between health, sustainability and jobs,
AND AMENITY and we see these links as running through the whole Wyndham
strategy. An increase in working locally, reduced commuting
Another important element in a successful strategy for
WERRIBEE AVIATORS times, active healthy living recreational opportunities and a
WEST FIELD Wyndham, will be to enhance local cultural and recreational
sustainable environment. Investment in green infrastructure is
amenity. This is a critical issue in rapidly growing outer-
an important element in that (see Green Infrastructure Economic
metropolitan areas, where modern housing developments risk
Framework -Young, Jones and Symons 2015), which presents a
creating dormitory suburbs with limited cultural and recreational
framework of the monetary, social and environmental benefits
amenity, compared with inner-suburban areas that have had
of investment in Green Infrastructure. This should be a key
more time to mature.
guiding framework for the Wyndham plan.
24 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 25PART FOUR
Produced with the support of:
CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
REFERENCES
The essential first step is to recognise Wyndham as a East Werribee’s transport and community integration will be Dawkins, P., Hurley, P., and Lloyd, D (2020), Averting an Schlegel,T., C. Pfister and U. Backes-Gellner (2020), “Tertiary
major satellite city within Melbourne, one of the key important. It cannot be dormant so how the precinct integrates Escalating Labour Market Crisis for Young People in Australia: Education Expansion and Regional Firm Development”,
focal points as Melbourne evolves into a polycentric functionally within Wyndham City and its region needs careful A Proposed National Job Cadet Program Mitchell Institute, Department of Business Administration Working Paper No.
city. planning. Victoria University. 166, University of Zurich.
Creating a powerful heart for Wyndham and the region Nevertheless, it is essential to be bold. Set clear job targets Jones, R., Symons, J., and Young, C., (2015) Assessing the United Kingdom Office of national Statistics (2014) Commuting
through the development of the East Werribee precinct for 2036 such as East Werribee 50,000 new jobs within the Economic Value of Green infrasturure: Green Paper. Victoria and Personal Well-being, 2014 https://webarchive.
should be of the highest single priority. This achieves multiple broader Wyndham target of 85,000 new jobs. Institute of Strategic Economic Studies. nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105231823/http://www.
objectives. It creates a concentration of employment, it provides ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/wellbeing/measuring-national-well-being/
Alongside the development of the precinct, there should be a Lass I. and Wilkins, R (2017) “The Labour Market” in, The
a focus for policy and government investment, and it creates a commuting-and-personal-well-being--2014/art-commuting-and-
focus on creating new jobs (i) In tourism, with new facilities Household, Income and Labour Dynamic in Australa: Selected
narrative for Wyndham and Melbourne about what the region personal-well-being.html
complementing existing assets, and (ii) In construction, and the Findings from Wave 1 to 17, Melbourne institute of Applied
is about. The proposed flagship theme for this precinct is ‘the
nature of local residential building changes. Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne.
clean economy’.
To help ensure that sufficient numbers of jobs created go
The key rationale for East Werribee investment is to provide
to people living locally, it will be important to enact a skills
high quality services to the broader region, particularly
development strategy especially of large and rapidly growing
professional services, administrative services, and scientific,
number of young people in the region, and to encourage and
technical and educational services.
support social procurement in the region.
The most important investments towards this goal include:
Alongside reduced commuting times made possible by more
• A major government services concentration. local jobs, complementary strategies to further enhance
• Significant hospital, medical and care facilities. liveability, healthiness and environmental sustainability, will
reinforce a positive future for Wyndham and its residents.
• A technical university campus.
• Relocated and new government research facilities.
East Werribee has to be more than a service centre. The aim
should be to inspire, to create a heart for the region and a
narrative about it. It will be appropriate to impose very high
design standards with architectural highlights and keynote
buildings, an integrated transport system and outstanding
design principles.
26 I WERRIBEE PRECINCT A VIBRANT SATELLITE CITY I 27For further information go to
www.womeda.com.au
Contact
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